134 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the earliest and most interesting biographies of Watt, relates an- 

 ecdotes of him which, if correct, illustrate well the thoughtfulness 

 and the intelligence, as well as the mechanical bent, of the boy's 

 mind. 



He is said, at the age of six years, to have occupied himself during 

 leisure hours with the solution of geometrical problems, and Arao-o 

 discovers in a story, in which he is described as experimenting with 

 the tea-kettle, his earliest investigations of the nature and properties 

 of steam. 



When finally sent to the village-school, his ill-health prevented 

 his making rapid progress, and it was only when more than fourteen 

 years of age that he began to show that he was capable of taking the 

 lead in his class, and to exhibit his ability in the study particularly of 

 mathematics. His spare time was principally spent in sketching with 

 his pencil, in carving, and in working at the bench, both in wood and 

 metal. His favorite work seemed to be the repairing of nautical in- 

 struments. 



In boyhood, as in after-life, he was a diligent reader, and he 

 seemed to find something to interest him in every book that came 

 into his hands. 



At the age of eighteen Watt was sent to Glasgow, there to reside 

 with his mother's relatives, and to learn the trade of a mathematical- 

 instrument maker. The mechanic with whom he was placed was soon 

 found too indolent, or was otherwise incapable of giving much aid in 

 the project ; and Dr. Dick, of the University of Glasgow, with whom 

 Watt became acquainted, advised him to go to London. 



Accordingly, he set out in June, 1755, for the metropolis, where, 

 on his arrival, he arranged with Mr. John Morgan, in Cornhill, to 

 work for a year at his chosen business, receiving as compensation 

 twenty guineas. At the end of the year he was compelled by serious 

 ill-health to return home. 



30. Having become restored to health, he went again to Glasgow, 

 in 1756, with the intention of pursuing his calling there. But not 

 being the son of a burgess, and not having served his apprenticeship 

 in the town, he was forbidden by the guilds, or trades-unions, to open 

 a shop in Glasgow. Dr. Dick came to his aid, and employed him to 

 repair some apparatus which had been bequeathed to the college ; and 

 he was finally allowed the use of three rooms in the university-build- 

 ing, its authorities not being under the municipal rule. 



He remained here until 1760, when, the trades no longer object* 

 ing, he took a shop in the city, and in 1761 moved again into a 

 shop on the north side of the Trongate, where he earned a scanty 

 living without molestation, still keeping up his connection with the 

 college. 



He spent much of his leisure time, of which he had more than 

 was desirable, in making philosojmical experiments, and in the manu- 



